When my late grandfather Yitzhak came to Israel after losing most of his family in the Holocaust, he was attacked by an Arab who attempted to stab him with a shabaria (dagger) in an attempt to rob him and perhaps even kill him. However, my robust grandfather managed to overpower and fend off his assailant. In the following years, he could only imagine roaming the magical streets of Jerusalem's Old City with his son. But now, 48 years have passed since Jerusalem was reunified during the 1967 Six-Day War, and I, like many others, was born into a different reality in which I was free to walk the streets of the Old City. Having been born and raised in this reality, we have forgotten that this freedom should not be taken for granted, as there have always been those who seek to pull us back to darker times. As someone who had been raised to love of the land of Israel and its heritage, I was saddened to read that many schools have canceled planned field trips to Jerusalem and other parts of the country this week. It is important to stress that neither the Education Ministry nor the Public Security Ministry has issued any such directive and these cancellations were made solely by school principals and parents concerned about the security situation. That difficult feeling became even stronger after learning that a ceremony scheduled to take place at the Western Wall with the participation of thousands of students had been canceled. I find it hard to understand how educators have opted to stay away from our capital, which so many have given their lives to return to the bosom of the nation. This city is a part of our legacy and identity and we choosing to give up the right to visit it and walk its streets, without being given the order to do so by any authorized body, is exactly what our enemies have been hoping for. As a father and a citizen I too feel the intense anxiety that every parent in Israel is experiencing in these difficult times. However, it is important that we fully comprehend the message our children receive when their teachers and parents make such decisions. Is it even conceivable for Raanana residents to avoid walking along the bustling Ahuza Street because a terrorist wanted to stab Jews? Our children are living in the Internet generation, so their connection to the land and its legacy is already looser than that of previous generations. When we are essentially telling them that their country and especially its capital are not safe, how can we expect them to truly feel a part of it- Maintaining our routine, including school field trips, is an inseparable part of our decisive response to our enemies, which is equally important as an uncompromising fight. In its absence, nothing is left but a physical void and a strong sense of incompleteness in our hearts, mind and identity. Throughout the generations, the Jewish people have dreamed about the day they would be able to live in and walk the streets of Jerusalem, so we owe it to ourselves and our children to continue to visit its sites and wander in its alleyways. We must keep playing this melody -- we cannot stop. Tzahi Dickstein is CEO of Eshkolot center for Israel studies and religious education.
What are we telling our children?
מערכת היום
מערכת "היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
